Old Truths, New Light
by Kat Evans
Summary: Her parents ran from the Night World. They hated being second class, and sought solitude in England, away from the masses. But when Kayla finds her soulmate, she has to learn; all is definitely not fair in love and war.
1. Opened Eyes

**This is a story that I began after school one day. Hope you like it.**

**(It's meant to take place around the time between Huntress and Black Dawn)  
**

* * *

He was walking away from Ethics when he saw her.

He had only gone this way to clear his head after the extremely heated debate and the chill wind seemed ideal. The debate had been on whether vampires could really exist. As he knew that answer for definite he had been fingering his ring, engraved with a black iris, for the entire lesson, reminding himself why it would not be a good idea if he proved it.

Even if his mind had not been dwelling on his world, he was sure that he would have noticed her. Her long black hair swung loose round her shoulders and her rich green eyes surveyed the world from a pale face. She was coming from the direction of the PE changing rooms and she was unnaturally flushed from the exercise.

Her walk was what tipped him off. That easy grace, so similar to a cats walk, she was one of them.

"Dude. Dude! ROB!"

"Huh?" Rob turned to see his best mate, Mitch, standing behind him. Mitch was giving him a 'what the hell?' look.

"Dude, what about the field? We're supposed to be checking out Michelle's gang this lunch! Seriously, hottest chicks in school!"

"I'm gonna have to take a rain check. Family thing. Uh, gotta go!" Rob took off at a run leaving a confused Mitch behind him. Mitch was human. He didn't know.

He didn't know about the Night World.

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**Please tell me what you think!**


	2. Suspicions

Kayla was sitting at one of the computers round the corner, typing away at a 'piece of coursework' that was actually a story she was writing.

The careers library was more or less unknown to most and the year 12 and 13's weren't allowed at lunch. Only one other person was round the corner, another tenth year that had his head in a book.

Attempting to be surreptitious, she peeked over her shoulder. His black hair, scruffily arranged, nearly fell in his clear blue eyes. He was pale, but not unhealthily so, and had not an inch of fat on him.

He looked up at her and smiled. Flushing, she looked away. She knew about nice boys, and knew they weren't always nice.

He wasn't new, he had been at this school for a year now, and she had seen him before. He was always hanging out with that 'ladies man' Mitch, who had broken so many hearts.

Resuming her typing as a fresh wave of inspiration hit, she didn't notice him close the book and leave.

After lunch had ended, Kayla headed up to her form room. Getting there she met her best friend Jess, and her other friends, Emily and Hannah. They were very excited.

"Kayla!" Emily squealed before saying something that was supposed to make sense but didn't because it was too high pitched and way too fast.

"Repeat slowly" Kayla intoned. Hannah interrupted her;

"There's talk of a Christmas dance this year! We think we should all go and dress up as book characters! Emily already has dibs on Alice from 'Twilight' and I have dibs on Lucy form the Narnia stories. What do you guys want?"

"Oh, I want Shiraz from 'Diary of a Chav! I've wanted the excuse for ages!' Jess gushed excitedly.

Kayla deliberately said nothing. She knew about the dance, she had overheard some girls in the changing rooms after PE.

She also knew she wouldn't go. They would call her a spoilsport and she would tell them her mum didn't like her out late. That wasn't the real reason though.

The real reason was that Kayla hated parties. Because to come as she really wanted would scare the crap out of everyone.

And land her in deep trouble with her parents.


	3. Phone Call

**OK, I've changed my mind, this is taking place after Witchlight now, makes it easier to work on. I'm not sure if Kayla is going to be a Wild power or not yet, so let me know what you think**

* * *

"Mum?"

"Rob? What is it? You don't usually call when you're at school"

"Mum, I think I've found her"

Silence.

"What do you mean, you think?"

"I mean, I'm entirely sure. She has the right gait and I'm sure I saw shape-shifter clothes under her school uniform. But I'm still not sure. Can I follow her tonight? I'll feed on the way"

"Ok, but be careful. And only approach her if you're sure. I don't want you to get hurt"

"Love you Mum"

"Love you too. Stay safe. Bye"

"Bye"

Snapping his cell phone shut, Rob stood up. He had been crouched by the edge of the maths block, hiding between cars. That shade had helped him think clearer, though it was a fairly cloudy day.

He froze there, watching as small group after small group passed by, all eager to get out of the hell-hole that was their school. He was waiting for her. That beautiful girl who had captured him completely without even speaking.

She was the reason his family had left America. Circle Daybreak knew about her, and knew that she was special.

"_Her paternal grandfather was a lamia." Lord Thierry explained to the Circle "And her maternal grandmother was a witch. Both their partners were shape shifters. And so were their children, each with some of their respective parent's powers._

"_That means that their child, a daughter that we know exists, has all three bloods in her. If trained she will make a powerful fighter, better than even some of us. I hope that she will be powerful enough to fight a dragon, if the Council find they can wake another one and do._

"_We need her very much and so we need someone to find her. Who will go?"_

_The silence had gone on for a few minutes before Rob had spoken up._

"_We'll go" His mother and father nodded in agreement. "She's only a teenager, in school. I can get into a school and track her down easily, without need of anything illegal. It's a perfect idea"_

So he and his parents had crossed the Atlantic and settled in England, a small market town where records said she lived. That was three months ago and he hadn't noticed her. Till now.

He knew it was his own fault. He had got caught up in being in a new place and had got off task. He had seen her before, but never noticed her, thinking back on it.

In a way was he was thankful for the debate in Ethics now. He had found her. Thierry would be ecstatic.


	4. Premonition

Kayla walked home. She could have taken the bus but she needed the fresh air. That boy was still on her mind. The way he had looked at her was more than flirty, it was triumphant.

She shook her head, she was imagining things. Kayla was a part time writer and she knew that if she was good at anything, she was good at making up stories.

Thinking of stories, her mind drifted from him and she was away, imagining everything from railroad crashes to superhero romances.

By the time she had her head back on the ground, she was at her front door. Slipping her key in the lock she opened the door.

"Mum?" she called. When there was no answer, Kayla went into the living room. On top of her laptop lay a letter and a small parcel. She went to pick up the letter.

'Dear Kayla' it said. 'I'm so sorry. Dr Reid took a sick day and they need me to cover her late shift. I won't be back until the morning, so get to bed! Your father called, he has to stay an extra night. He say's he is sorry too. Here is our present to you. Happy 15th birthday, sweetheart. Mum.'

Kayla's face fell, but she had expected it. This always happened. Last birthday it had been a seven car pile up that had caused mum to work late and held up dad. She reached for the present.

Unwrapping it, she gasped. It was a necklace, one of her mothers that she had always loved. A gold chain running down to a dog-tag like pendant, engraved with a black lily.

Fastening it around her neck, Kayla was pleased to find it was just the right length. Looking in the mirror, she saw someone new looking back at her. Physically the same but mentally she saw a new person. Blinking she tried to find the difference. Suddenly she felt an odd sense of foreboding. Things were gonna change. Soon.

She just knew it.


	5. Keys

Taking a deep breath, Rob knocked the door. A scuffling and curse made him guess that she couldn't find the keys. Typical. It always happens.

"Hold on a minute! Just finding my keys!"

He snorted. Hopefully this would be easy. She would know all about the Night World, all he had to do was explain that Circle Daybreak was alive again and they would be on their way. Simple.

Right?


	6. Frantic Breathing

Kayla peered through the peephole; it was that boy from the library. Mitch's mate, Bob was it?

"Rob" he called through the door. That was weird. How did he …

Finally locating the key, Kayla opened the door a crack.

"Can I help?" she asked coolly.

"Um, can I come in?" Rob asked expectantly.

"I'm afraid my mother and father aren't in tonight, can you come back another time?"

"It's about the Night World"

He obviously expected this to make an impression. It did.

Kayla slammed the door in his face.

Breathing fast she braced herself against the door. Her mother and father had warned her this would happen. At the age of fifteen, shape shifters were doomed to be hauled away, dragged off to work in mines, or other manual labour. That was why her parents had run, had eloped after escaping a coal mine.

They had wanted to save her from. They had hoped she would be free to live a normal human life. Then she had been born and she had been a shape shifter. They had taught her it was wrong to change, unnatural. As soon as she was old enough, they had prevented her from changing.

Recently she had felt the want to change grow, like there was something changing in the world and whatever it was, it needed her.

"What are you doing?" Rob called through the door.

"You're here to take me away aren't you! To the coal mines and slave trade! My parents told me what happens!"

"What? We don't … we … what?"

"If you come in, I'll call the police!"

"If I was going to take you off to a slave market, do you really think it would be just me? And also, I'm not going to take you anywhere you don't want to go. I just want to talk. Then if you want me to, I'll leave"

Kayla considered this for a few moments. His first point was true and he seemed genuine.

"You swear?" she called through. On second thoughts she added "I have a pointy stick and I'm not afraid to use it"

She heard him chuckle before he called "I swear by the Goddess." It was an odd thing to swear by but ok, it was just for a while. Seizing a long wooden stick that she used for walking, she opened the door slowly.


	7. Impressions

**This one goes into both of their sides of the story, sorry for any confusion.**

Looking up from under his black bangs, Rob looked incredibly hot, Kayla had to admit that. Opening the door wider she gestured him to step in. He did so, keeping a wide berth of her stick.

When on the same level, he was taller by a few inches. His school uniform was replaced by black trousers and a white shirt. The top button was undone, showing a little of his chest. The black shoes he had had in place at school were still there.

His eyes swept over her speculatively, as if weighing her up. As she closed the door, never turning her back, she jutted out her jaw, attempting to show she was going to listen and then he was going to get out.

What she didn't know that he wasn't judging her, he was absorbing her movements and looks. Only seeing her up close for the first time, he was stunned. Her face, with only a little more colour to it than his, was as perfectly sculpted as a statue by a great master. Her black gold hair was tucked behind her ears, the right ear pierced halfway up with a small gold hoop. The contours of her chin smoothed perfectly into a graceful neck, now adorned with what he recognised to be a Night World necklace. Her lips, though thin, looked perfectly suited for her face, though perhaps not for lipstick. Still in her school uniform, minus her jumper, she looked professional, an air of authority about her.

Then their eyes met and they both stiffened. Her green eyes watched him warily as he went into the living room ahead of her. When he stood in front of the un-lit fire, he turned to face her.

"What do you know of the Night World?" was all he said. Kayla, eyed him up before telling him what she knew to be the truth;

"It's a world where vampires and witches rule, with us shape shifters as second class. The Night Council rules with an iron fist and kills anyone who breaks the rules. Our people are nothing more than servants, no, that's too good, _slaves_. You've come to take me to work. I'm not going"

Rob looked aghast.

"Who told you all that?"

"My parents. Escapees from one of your coal mines. I would have thought you knew that. Or did they not trust a child?"

Rob fought the instinct to snarl at this. Not because she had insulted him, but because she insulted his way, her rightful way of life.

Seeing him tense, Kayla grasped the staff tighter, ready to fight. Then he did something she did not expect. He relaxed and calmly tugged the stick out of her grasp. Throwing it on the grate behind him, he turned to face her again. His face was calm, no more than that; sorrowful.

Feeling hurt, but not sure why, Kayla found herself locked in his gaze. He seemed to understand her feeling and it felt like he knew everything.

"Kayla, I am so sorry I scared you. But you need to know the truth" Coming forward slowly, he took her left hand in both of his.

Suddenly a bittersweet pain erupted in her hand, spreading quickly all over her body. It was new and hurt but felt so good. He released her hand, staring at his own.

"Impossible…" he murmured, his eyes flicking to her face now.

"What was that?" Kayla asked.

"Nothing" he admonished. "It was nothing. Static charge" His voice changed; "Shape shifters are not second class, not any more. Once yes, but not now. Especially where I come on behalf of"

"What do you mean?"

"I come on behalf of Circle Daybreak"


	8. Soulmate

"Who?"

"Circle Daybreak. The witches have Circles defining their alignment, but Circle Daybreak is not only for witches but for vampires, shape shifters and even humans. We seek to equalize everyone. Hell, one of our best fighters, Keller, is shape shifter.

"We want you to join us"

"Join you! I don't even know you! And my answer is no. I don't even shift! It's wrong to even want to!" Kayla snarled.

"What? Who's been telling you this?" Rob's voice was confused and angry at the same time.

"My parents" Kayla snapped back. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him and now he was telling her stuff that her parents hid from her. Despite saying otherwise she desperately wanted to know more about this world that had been hidden from her. She needed to know.

"Your parents have been lying to you. You can change, you've been wanting to! I've seen your mind, I know! Even if you never shift in your life, it doesn't go away! You can try, but it won't work!

"Kayla, you will always be a shape shifter!"

At this last he grasped her forearms, shaking her slightly. That bittersweet sensation spread through her body again making her gasp. He released her and stared at his hand and then her again.

"What was that?" she repeated quietly, her voice silently burning.

"The soulmate principle" he said, barely raising his voice above hers. "That for every Night Person, there is someone else. They might be human or they might be a different race, but as soon as they realise each other, neither can be without the other. No matter how long they live, they will never love another like they love their soulmate. It would physically hurt to try. You and I are … " he trailed off, gazing into her eyes.

"Soulmates" she whispered.

Kayla reached for his face with her left hand, testing the feeling. Laying her hand against his cool cheek, she felt the same sensation sweep her body. Rob groaned softly, a moan of pleasure.

Bending slightly, he brushed his lips to hers. Her right hand flew to his neck, pulling him closer, as her left entangled itself in his hair. His left hand held her back, bending her to him, while his right hand gently manipulated her neck to put her head at the right angle for him to kiss her properly. Their lips parting, they each breathed in the other's scent; his cool and refreshingly heady, hers warm and succinctly desirable.

A pink haze clouded Kayla's vision and through it she saw his mind. A tendril reached for her and she reached for it. Then she was enveloped. His mind was tough on the outside, a fighters mind, but inside a warm red revealed a romantic nature.

It was interesting for him too. Her outer shell was thick, like she didn't want anyone to see the real her, the her she had been hiding from everyone for so long. But inside she loved the night, the way the dark kept her feelings from everyone and how when the moon was full, she longed to shift, and run, and howl.

_Is it always like this? _She asked him.

_I don't know, I can't see other people when they're connecting like this. All we came to this country to do was find another fighter. And I find my soulmate._

_When I was younger, my mother used to use her magic skill to stop me from changing. Once she forgot and when she tried to put it on I was in my wolf form. It took her two days to get me to calm down enough to right it._

_I used to use my telepathy to cheat when at school with humans. In sport, in class, even in exams!_

How long they stood there, enveloped in each others memories, thoughts and arms, they didn't know.

Rob told her the truth about the Night World. He showed her Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah. His cousin, James and his soulmate Poppy. Rashel, The Cat turned Daybreaker, and Quinn, adopted Redfern turned human lover. Blaise and her sister Thea. How the union of the witches and shape shifters had given the shape shifters more equal standing. The three found Wild Powers; Jez, Delos, Iliana. The dragon that had been woken and how it had been defeated.

There was so much that needed to be said.

But they knew that Kayla should be alone tonight. That he would be free to stay as long as they liked. That they could embrace each other truly as two people joined together by something beyond any understanding.


	9. Oxygen

Things did not happen exactly to plan. A car pulled up at about half past six, interrupting their embrace. Staring into each others eyes for a moment, they knew this would not be the best time to explain. Kissing her once more and telling her he would be there that night, Rob disappeared.

Kayla did a quick sweep of the room, making sure nothing was disturbed. Flinging the stick into the corner it had come from, she answered the door.

"Mum!" she cried, flinging herself into her mothers arms. She had already decided, in the time it had taken her to sweep the room, that she would find the Night World. Rob had promised to tell her more about it soon. Her mother could not be blamed for wanting her away from danger, neither could her father. They thought they were doing the right thing and she would talk to them at another time, with her soulmate at her side.

"Hiya baby! Dr Reid felt better and she knew it was your birthday so she came in so I could go! Happy Birthday sweetie"

The rest of the evening was a happy time. Her father called and they chatted for a while before the hotel he was staying at told him to get off the line. Her mother asked her how she liked the gift just before she headed to bed, earlier than usual.

"I love it Mum. It's perfect, just what I wanted" was the only thing she could say, not mentioning the good timing.

Hurrying upstairs she slipped into her room and closed the door. His shoes on the floor, Rob lay on her bed. He had been watching the door for about three hours. Kayla hurried to embrace him, but before she could, he stopped her. Sitting up, he looked somewhere between embarrassed and hopeful.

"Um, can I ask a favour?"

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"Um, I, uh, I'm having trouble with the oxygen"

She blinked. Then her eyes widened.

"Me? Won't change me, will it??"

"No, I only need a little for the moment, just enough to keep me OK until about midnight"

"Why midnight?"

"When you're asleep, I'll take a stroll" when she showed signs of interrupting he stopped her. "It won't kill them, I don't need to kill. I just need a bit of haemoglobin and I don't want to take too much from you, I don't know how I'll react to the mixed blood"

"I wasn't going to object to that part. You'll leave me?" Kayla's eyes were hurt. Rob smiled at her expression but understood. It hurt to think of leaving her too.

"You'll be asleep. And I'll be back before morning. You won't miss me. Promise. Now come here, I know you have Night World clothes on underneath now, I wanna see!"

Pulling off her school shirt to reveal a black Shape shifter tank top, Kayla hopped on the bed next to him and he held her close. Twisting away from him slightly, she gazed into his eyes briefly. Then she offered him her neck.


End file.
